function slideSwitch() {
      var $active = $('#slideshow IMG.active');

      if ( $active.length == 0 ) $active = $('#slideshow IMG:last');

      // use this to pull the images in the order they appear in the markup
      var $next =  $active.next().length ? $active.next()
          : $('#slideshow IMG:first');

      // uncomment the 3 lines below to pull the images in random order

      // var $sibs  = $active.siblings();
      // var rndNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * $sibs.length );
      // var $next  = $( $sibs[ rndNum ] );


      $active.addClass('last-active');

      $next.css({opacity: 0.0})
          .addClass('active')
          .animate({opacity: 1.0}, 1000, function() {
              $active.removeClass('active last-active');
          });
  }

  $(function() {
      setInterval( "slideSwitch()", 5000 );
  });